Warren Weekly

Published February 12, 2014

Love imitates art for real-life couples from ‘Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding’

GROSSE POINTES/WARREN — Valentine’s Day is all about love and romance, and what’s more romantic than two people pledging their lifelong devotion to each other?

Published January 13, 2014

Historical figure’s missing gravestone found

UTICA/SHELBY TOWNSHIP/WARREN — The historic marker belonging to Gurden C. Leech, the man who in 1833 suggested that the Village of Harlow be renamed Utica, has been missing from the Utica Cemetery in Shelby Township for about 30 years.

Jim Bryant, 49, of Warren, discovered the gravestone when he was 18 or 19 years old — on his way to his favorite fishing pond — in a pile of rubble on the side of the road near 21 Mile and Ryan in Shelby Township. He said it looked like it had fallen off a truck.

Published November 26, 2013

Holiday shows are stuffed with good cheer

The lights, the songs, the anticipation! No, it’s not everyone tearing into their presents on Christmas morning as the holiday music plays in the background — it’s one of the many festive shows you’ll find around town.

And after all of the preparation, stress, spending, wrapping and running around, what better gift to give to yourself than an evening to sit back, relax and be entertained?

Here are just a few of this year’s highlights:

Published August 28, 2013

Fundraiser is an ‘enchanting’ evening in an enchanting garden

DETROIT — With its exotic blooms and tranquil atmosphere, stepping inside the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory on Belle Isle is like stepping into a world of natural wonder.

There, visitors will find an acre of cacti, blooming plants, tropical trees, ferns and unusual orchids in the World of Horticulture alone, along with the elegant formal perennial garden and lily pond gardens.

Published August 28, 2013

Oakland County to pull DIA funding if art is sold

OAKLAND COUNTY — The Oakland County Art Authority has sent a strong statement to those handling the city of Detroit’s bankruptcy: hands off the DIA.

During the most recent meeting of the Oakland County Art Authority Aug. 20, the five-member board voted unanimously to pass a resolution that would cancel their existing contract to financially support the Detroit Institute of Arts if the museum’s collection is affected by the city’s bankruptcy process.

Published August 28, 2013

Pet store owner gets probation in cruelty cases

WARREN — A Warren pet shop owner accused of animal abandonment and cruelty in two separate cases has been banned from keeping animals and sentenced to two years of probation after pleading no contest in Macomb County Circuit Court.

According to court records, Dennis Jones, 57, of Pontiac, was also ordered to pay a yet-to-be-determined amount of restitution at his sentencing Aug. 20.

The sentence covers two separate cases stemming from allegations of abandonment and cruelty at his store, Greenwood Pets & Plants on Nine Mile east of Schoenherr, in 2012 and 2013.

Published July 3, 2013

Let kitchen remodeling show off your style

For many homeowners, remodeling their kitchen is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“People are really thinking it through,” said Barb Baker, of Elder Living Construction in Farmington Hills. “They are investing in a little higher quality. They are taking the time to understand the different wood qualities, and they are spending the money to make upgrades.”

Baker said her customers want new cabinets that will look good and last for a long time. They are also looking at new ways of hiding electrical outlets for a smooth, uninterrupted backsplash.

Published July 3, 2013

Lavender lovers, unite!

METRO DETROIT — Next weekend, metro Detroiters will follow their noses to Romeo for the 11th annual Michigan Lavender Festival July 12-14 at Blake’s Orchard and Cider Mill.

There’s just something about the sight and scent of lavender that can evoke the excitement of summer and instill a feeling of serenity. And like so many seasons before, many Michiganders are once again on the hunt for the herb to use for cooking, cleaning or just plain sniffing.

Published June 5, 2013

Parents consider options while school’s out for the season

As kids anxiously await the arrival of summer, parents are weighing their summer child care options. From day camps to sitters, there’s a lot to consider when choosing who your youngster will spend their summer break with.

Published May 29, 2013

Find alternatives to familiar flowers

Impatiens, a top choice for homeowners planting colorful annual flower displays, will not be available at most nurseries this year.

“There is a downy mildew problem with impatiens,” said Carl Eckert, owner of Eckert’s Greenhouse on Ryan in Sterling Heights. “We didn’t grow them this year, and most other nurseries also didn’t.”

Published May 22, 2013

Mapping out Michigan fun

Michigan Week is in full swing, giving residents just one more excuse to revel in all the wonderful things there are to do and see in the Mitten State.

Whether you’re a beer buff or a beach babe, there’s a place for you in Michigan. But with so many regional specialties, it’s hard to choose which area of the state is best for the stay- or play-cation of your choice.

Published April 30, 2013

2013 Detroit Jazz Festival creates unity in jazz community

DETROIT — The Labor Day weekend is still a few months away, but already it’s promising to be another great one for jazz lovers and the city of Detroit.

Published April 10, 2013

Luddites’ latest is a ‘Twisted’ take on acoustic music

After almost 21 years together, the Luddites still haven’t suffered the ubiquitous “creative differences” that have shattered bands less than half their age.

The 11-piece acoustic group will celebrate the release of their fourth CD, “Twisted In,” with a concert starting at 9 p.m. April 13 at PJ’s Lager House. Bass player David Giovannucci, one of the original Luddites from those early days in August 1992 when they started as a five-piece acoustic act, said friendship and mutual respect have kept them going all these years.

Published April 10, 2013

The lesser-known benefit of recycling

In the bin

Come garbage day, most curbside recycling bins are stuffed with paper, plastic and glass bottles, cans, and cardboard, but there’s a whole lot more that can be added to the heap.

Published March 27, 2013

Despite cold temperatures and damaging fungus, local nurseries are getting ready for gardening season

Though spring seems to have lost its way en route to Michigan, it won’t be long before temperatures finally rise and the ground thaws to welcome new plants and flowers into eagerly awaited gardens around metro Detroit.

Just like in fashion boutiques, there will be lots of trends that customers will be clamoring for at their local nursery this year as they plan their landscape design. According to Erma Rhadigan, co-owner of Ray Wiegand’s Nursery in Macomb Township, this year’s most popular bloom choices are going to be bright, warm colors.

Published March 27, 2013

Spring into projects: Seasonal cleaning can include much more

With spring here — at least according to the calendar — many homeowners look to the state of their houses after the long, dirty winter and aren’t happy with what they see.

Carpets are soiled by salty boots; driveways start cracking from the months-long freeze/thaw cycle; and muddy messes are exposed in backyards that will be used for entertaining, come summer.

Now is the time to fix those problems, according to local contractors, before warm-weather fun beckons and the summer home- improvement rush begins.

Published March 22, 2013

Tuskegee Airman shares his personal experiences

WARREN — “The attitude was blacks would not fly for the U.S.,” Tuskegee Airman Lt. Col. Washington Ross said. “Senator (Harry) Truman, Eleanor Roosevelt, the black press The Amsterdam News put pressure on Congress to let blacks take aviation training.”

On March 14, the World War II fighter pilot shared his story with about 40 audience members during a presentation at the Macomb Community College South Campus library.

Published August 8, 2012

Capturing summer in a jar

Can do

Eileen Haraminac will teach several upcoming food preservation courses at the Macomb MSU Extension office at 21885 Dunham, Assembly Room A, in Clinton Township:

• Aug. 18: hot water bath jams and jellies.

Published June 8, 2012

Scout’s project adds ‘rain garden’ at Halmich

WARREN — When it rains at Halmich Park, water will pour over an array of native perennial plants in a “rain garden” planned by an aspiring Eagle Scout.

The new garden, on the north side of the park near Chicago Road west of Ryan, was planted June 2 by scouts from Troop 1478, based at St. Anne.

Troop member Jonathan Chmura coordinated the effort as a service project required to attain the rank of Eagle Scout.

Published June 1, 2012

Class in session at historic Bunert schoolhouse

WARREN — The bus ride from Warren’s Westwood Elementary to the Bunert One-Room Schoolhouse Museum was just over a mile, about as far as some kids would have walked to class — in all sorts of weather — 100 years ago.

But inside the historic school-turned-museum, student life once was about as far as you can imagine from what you’ll find in today’s classrooms.